Jaden Bradley scored 13 of his 15 points over the final seven minutes and Anthony Dell'Orso had 20 as Arizona beat UCLA 69-65 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Friday night. Arizona closed the game on a 20-8 run.
The veterans led the way for Arizona versus UCLA. Dell'Orso made six of his 11 shots from the floor, four of seven three-point attempts and all four of his free throws. Motiejus Krivas had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Tobe Awaka had eight points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Arizona rallied from a 15-5 deficit to start the game to take a 28-25 lead at halftime. The Wildcats extend the lead to 39-32 early in the second half. UCLA flipped the momentum with a 25-10 run to surge in front 57-49. That's when Bradley took over.
Bradley has been the closer for Arizona in key wins early in the season over Florida and UCLA. After the game was played at a deliberate pace in the first half, the second half was more to the style Tommy Lloyd prefers. Arizona outscored UCLA 41-40 in the second half.
Arizona freshman Brayden Burries and Koa Peat struggled. Burries shot 1-9 and finished with five points. Peat had the toughest game of his extremely young college career with seven points on two of five from the field, four rebounds, four fouls and six turnovers.
Four UCLA starters finished in double figures, led by Tyler Bilodeau with 19, 15 in the second half. Arizona outscored UCLA 28-3 off the bench, 38-20 points in the paint and 12-4 in second chance points, while outrebounding UCLA 35-28.
The early-season gauntlet continues for Arizona on Wednesday, at Connecticut, with a 5 PM tipoff time on FS1. Connecticut has started the 2025-26 season with three consecutive wins before it plays against BYU on Saturday in Boston. The Huskes are third-ranked nationally.